Summary of yurt construction

The yurt is 20ft in diameter and has a surface area of 315 sq. ft. The center is 8ft high and 6ft 6" at the wall. The frame is made of eastern white cedar. A stem wall of two layers of hard-packed animal feed bags filled with crushed stone keeps the timber off the ground. This enables construction on rocky and uneven ground without need of excavation equipment. The 18" overhang protects the walls. Fresh cow manure makes the very best plaster; it's free, comes ready made, spreads like peanut butter and sets as hard as tree bark. The center post is either a tree trunk with a fork or simply set upside down. There are five windows, the main one is a south-facing patio door set sideways, the other four are evenly set around the wall and all open outwards so that there is plenty of ventilation and daylight. I did a cement and lime stucco on the inside of my first yurt, now I will plaster both the inside and outside with cow manure, on the inside it will be sanded down and white-washed. The lattice wall is filled with insulation and this is covered with at least two layers of used timber tarps ( free and generally slightly ripped). Chicken wire covers the taps and this anchors the cow manure. One layer of cow manure works, however, when time permits, a second layer will be added. The roof has three layers, the first is an old tarp, next is 6mil. polythene vapor barrier, then a heavy duty agricultural tarp (500 sq, ft.). Cedar poles wired together hold down the tarps and keep the four inches of compost in place. The roof is the seeded with grass seed.

Photos of my yurts.

Here are photos of the three yurts that I have built or are under construction. Detailed instructions and comments will be added later.

Yurt No.1 with cow manure exterior plaster

interior of Yurt 1.

South facing window

Center post and raised bed.

Door.

Woodshed and summer kitchen.

Straightening window frame post with Spanish windlass ( twisting a loop of chain with iron bar).

Upside down center post.

 Detail of post and roof beams.

Second  hobbit home.

 Yurt No.2

 Center post

How to Build Ultra Low Cost Homes and the Art of Living Free

My book on off-the-grid living was published as an ebook in June and is available on Amazon. I''m going to add another chapter titled - Okay, now the reality. This will give the bare bones truth of what it is like living off the grid, along with the mental and physical requirements needed to make it work. It will also include updates on building a yurt. I'm now building my third one. This info will also be published on this blog.